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Salt Contaminated Water Phytotreatment by Constructed Wetland

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Sabkha Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Tasks for Vegetation Science ((TAVS,volume 48))

Abstract

Soil and water salinization can be reclaimed using halophytes. Salt contaminated water are usually treated with membrane processes and thermal methods. However, constructed wetland an efficient and affordable technology has been proposed to remove salt from water using halophytes. Efficiency of constructed wetlands are reported in this paper. Studies generally observed salt absorption by plants and salt accumulation issues in soil. An analysis of the literature demonstrates that phytoextraction partially removes salt from salt contaminated water and must be coupled with other technologies for increased effectiveness. The use of brine volume reduction, to reduce the volume of contaminated water, used in conjunction with phytoextraction is proposed as an alternative. Brine volume reduction also provides the possibility of generating income by cash crop cultivation. Recommendations are proposed to improve the treatment of salt contaminated water. A constructed wetland with basins planted with incrementally higher salt tolerant species is presented. Its design is based on evapotranspiration modelling and species selection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Water Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Laval University, Pavillon Adrien-Poulliot, Québec, QC, G1K 7P4, Canada

    B. Morteau

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  1. B. Morteau
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Correspondence to B. Morteau .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University Center for Sust. Development, Doha, Qatar

    M. Ajmal Khan

  2. UNESCO Liaison Office, UNECA Bldg New Bldg, 1st floor, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia

    Benno Boër

  3. Ege University, Izmir, Turkey

    Münir Ȫzturk

  4. Division of Ecological and Earth Science, UNESCO Headquarters, Natural Sci Div of Ecological & Earth Science, Paris Cedex 15, France

    Miguel Clüsener-Godt

  5. Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utili, University of Karachi Inst.of Sustainable Halophyte Utili, Karachi, Pakistan

    Bilquees Gul

  6. Abteilung 3 - Ökologie, Universität Bielefeld Fakultät für Biologie, Bielefeld, Germany

    Siegmar-W. Breckle

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Morteau, B. (2016). Salt Contaminated Water Phytotreatment by Constructed Wetland. In: Khan, M., Boër, B., Ȫzturk, M., Clüsener-Godt, M., Gul, B., Breckle, SW. (eds) Sabkha Ecosystems. Tasks for Vegetation Science, vol 48. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27093-7_14

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